By Alison Taylor and Adam Daff
The Marxist-Leninist candidate in the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding, Dorothy Jean O’Donnell, is a former bus driver who is now a lawyer.
O’Donnell has been in the party since 1973 and is a staunch socialist.
She said her party was opposed to party politics and was striving for "democratic renewal" in the process of selecting candidates.
"Citizens should be governing themselves, people in the community should be giving specific recognition to certain people in their community who they feel can work in leadership roles; there is no need for party politics," said O’Donnell.
"It’s existed before in Canada… non-party government where you have representatives of citizens organizing themselves into different ministries.
"This is a key plank in our democratic renewal platform."
The Marxist-Leninist party stands on the platform that all aspects of Canadian life, be they political, economic or social, need renewal.
O’Donnell added that her party was also strongly against helping the "rich" and industrial monopolies.
The party Web site states:
"The first step towards a planned modern society is the economic and political program to Stop Paying the Rich – Increase Funding for Social Programs."
On the international front, the party believes that Canada needs a foreign policy which supports all people fighting for their rights, non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign nations, and immediate withdrawal of Canada from the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and the North American Free Trade Agreement, among other things.
